BASKETBALL/Yu Ai-che first Taiwanese graduate to join Japan's pro hoops league

Taipei, June 24 (CNA) Two-time University Basketball Association MVP Yu Ai-che (游艾喆) has blazed a new trail for Taiwan's domestic college hoopsters by joining a professional franchise in the Japan Professional Basketball League (B.LEAGUE).

At a press conference in Taipei on Monday confirming the signing, the point guard who led the National Chengchi University (NCCU) Griffins to four straight titles, said he looked forward to the next chapter of his career with the Shiga Lakes (formerly Shiga Lakestars).

The team is based in Shiga's capital Otsu in southwest Japan, and its home court, the Shiga Daihatsu Arena, has a capacity of 5,000 seats.

"[The team] has made comprehensive arrangements for my future. Also, I want to challenge players with different styles, so I'm very thankful for the chance the chairperson and the franchise have given me," the 22-year-old said.

According to Griffins executive director Stanley Sun (孫秉宏), three or four other B.LEAGUE teams pursued Yu, as did at least 10 teams from the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and almost all the clubs in Taiwan's two pro leagues, the P.LEAGUE+ (PLG) and T1 LEAGUE.

Futoshi Nakayama, who chairs the Lakes franchise, said the team expects Yu to become the Taiwanese icon of the league.

"Just like people think about Lin Chih-chieh (林志傑) when it comes to the CBA, we hope Ai-che can become the Taiwanese star of the league. When it comes to the B.LEAGUE, the face they will see as Ai-che."

Yu, considered a once-in-a-decade talent in Taiwan, made a name for himself by leading the Griffins to their first title in the 2020-21 season.

This was during a time when the team was struggling to fill the vacancy left by Tien Hao (田浩), who decided to join the PLG's Hsinchu Lioneers (now Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers) without finishing his bachelor's degree.

In his stint in Taipei's Wenshan District, Yu secured the UBA men's titles in assists and steals every single year, pushing the assist record from 398 to 648 and the steals record from 269 to 274.

Nakayama, also the president of Sun Chlorella, a nutritional supplement producer that will sponsor the World University Basketball Series (WUBS) for the third consecutive year this summer, said Yu's mature approach to the game at the tournament also led him to recruit the young phenom.

He believed that Yu, who has led his team to championships six years in a row since his second year at Neng-Ren Commercial and Household Vocational High School, is a player that can lead the Lakes to their first title in the B.LEAGUE's first division (B1).

Established in 2008, the team was relegated to the B2 after finishing with the second-worst record in the B1 in the 2022-23 season, but it will return to the B1 in the 2024-25 season following its B2 championship in May.

Before signing the deal, Yu and Sun took a three-day trip to Shiga, where they were welcomed by Nakayama.

Yu said he met with the Lakes coaching staff and was impressed by the slow-paced lifestyle there, which "reminded me of my hometown of Yilan [County]."

Yu will wear No. 7 -- a number representing the other seven members of his family -- to play for the Lakes.

Nakayama, whose wife also grew up in Yilan, said he realized family plays a central role in Yu's life, and promised he would treat Yu as part of the Lakes family.

Although the value of Yu's one-year deal was not disclosed, Nakayama and Sun said it set a new record for a rookie in the league.

In addition, Nakayama has persuaded the league to change its rules regarding the Rookie of the Year Award, which previously did not allow players categorized as Asian imports such as Yu to be eligible for the honor.

Also on Monday, the Lakes and the Griffins inked a pact that makes them sister teams, while Nakayama announced that his company will provide the Griffins with his company's products.

The courtesy and professionalism of the Griffins' players "were etched on my memory when I first saw them," he said when asked about what pushed him to offer the sponsorship.

Yu is the second Taiwanese player to join a B.LEAGUE team this summer, about one week after two-time T1 LEAGUE regular season MVP Mohammed Al Bachir Gadiaga signed a deal with the Akita Northern Happinets.